Sled Island’s hip-hop showcase reveals new artists to add to your playlist

By Julieanne Acosta, June 27 2023—

On June 23, Sled Island x CBC presented a hip-hop showcase on the patio of Modern Love, formerly Broken City. With four incredible artists taking the stage, the audience learned more about the local hip-hop scene and got to experience a wide range of different rap artists.

First up to taking the stage was up-beat Calgary-based artist, Dizzy Walka. His refreshing sound focuses on perseverance and produced a feel-good atmosphere for the audience.

Walka was an excellent opening set for what was yet to come — the focus on positivity that Walka’s music takes on pulled in the crowd and had everybody listening for the next verse.

Up next after Walka was another Calgary artist — 86Love. His music — though in the same genre as Walka’s — shows that rap can take on various forms in style and in lyricism.

With a mix of trap and rap in his music, 86Love had everyone’s eyes on the stage while getting up closer to dance along. A personal favourite for the Gauntlet was without a doubt his song “ALBERTA BIG DICK SWINGIN” — a fun tribute to the classic stereotypes of Alberta men.

Following his set, MELODNA took the stage to showcase her smooth R&B — once again changing up the atmosphere of the scene.

Despite a short burst of rain at the beginning of the set, MELODNA carried on flawlessly — and in complete fairness, the rain added to the ambience of the set anyways. Her music had the crowd swaying back and forth to one song while jumping along at the next song.

Last up on the showcase was the iconic duo Dragon Fli Empire bringing their jazz and hip-hop style beat and truly ending the night off with a bang.

The Gauntlet was incredibly grateful to be able to watch these talented artists perform. All in all, the hip-hop showcase gave the audience a taste of what the rap scene in Calgary truly has to offer.

To learn more about Sled Island, visit their website.